President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will meet Vladimir Putin “very shortly” to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Speaking during a summit with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the 79-year-old said security arrangements had delayed the meeting.
Putin, according to the Wall Street Journal, has told the US he is willing to stop the fighting if Moscow gains control of Eastern Ukraine. Trump described the situation in Europe as “very complicated” but hinted at “swapping of territories to the betterment of both.”
A Potential Turning Point—or Just Talk?
If the meeting happens, it will be the first US-Russia summit since 2021, when Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. For Trump, it could mark a high-profile step in his effort to end the war. But the gulf between Moscow and Kyiv’s peace terms remains wide, leaving no guarantee that the talks would halt the bloodshed.
Friday also marked the deadline Trump had set for the Kremlin to make peace—a date that passed without a breakthrough.
Also Read: Trump’s Trade Gamble: Record Gains Today, Depression Fears Tomorrow
On the Ground, No Faith in Moscow
In eastern Ukraine, frontline soldiers say they have little hope for diplomacy. Near Pokrovsk in Donetsk, a commander known by the call sign “Buda” said Russia cannot be trusted at the table.
“It is impossible to negotiate with them. The only option is to defeat them,” he told the Associated Press. “I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them.”
No date for the Trump–Putin summit has been announced, and the White House has not released details of where it might take place. For now, the war grinds on — and Ukraine’s troops prepare for more fighting, not less.
